Dugu Xiang and Xu Lai were pulling back on the long ropes. When they found out that Jing Zhencheng was suddenly in trouble, it was too late to step forward and stop him. The strange thing was that Jiang Shuo didn't panic at all. He only held the person in his hand. With a move upward, Jing Zhencheng's Qianniu sword swept across like the wind, but he heard a soft "chi" sound, and then everyone felt a lightness on the raft.
The raft had been mostly submerged in the water before, but now it floated to the surface again. Only then did Dugu Xiang see that Jiang Shuo was holding up the man with a thick hemp rope tied to his feet. It was obvious that the man who had just fallen into the raft was sinking. There was something heavy on his feet. Dugu Xiang and Xu Lai only focused on pulling Jiang Shuo. Only Jing Zhencheng calmly observed that there was something heavy on the man's feet.
Jiang Shuo's internal and external kung fu had reached the advanced level at this moment. As soon as he looked at the direction where Jing Zhencheng drew his sword, he knew that he was not slashing at him, so he stood still and allowed his long sword to pass by his side and cut off the rope.
Jing Zhencheng cut off the rope with one swing of his sword and then put the sword back into its sheath. From drawing out the sword to withdrawing the move, he was clean and neat, with no unnecessary movements. Dugu Xiang saw that he had no power to fight back when fighting Jiang Shuo and Dugu Wen, and praised his kung fu. It's just commonplace. Today I saw him wielding the sword cleanly and neatly, and I realized that his swordsmanship is not weak.
Before Jiang Shuo could thank Xiang Jingzhen, he heard the man he was holding shouting: "Hurry up, little monkey, let your grandpa down."
Jiang Shuo then remembered that after he pulled the man out of the water, he kept cursing. During this period, he fell into the water and was given a few mouthfuls of sea water. However, the man still kept cursing, but his voice was very familiar. Jiang Shuo put him down gently, but when the man was about to scold him, Xu Lai went up and opened his bow left and right, slapped him twice, and yelled: "Peng Gufan, what are you talking about? Don't you even look at who is going to scold him?" Did you save him?"
It turns out that the person Jiang Shuo rescued from the ice sea was Xu Lai's subordinate Peng Gufan.
Only then did Peng Gufan see clearly that the people coming were Jiang Shuo and Xu Lai. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Ah, Master Jiang, why are you..." Suddenly remembering his rude insult just now, he quickly turned over and knelt down and kowtowed. : "Gu Fan was speechless, he bumped into the young master, and he asked the young master to punish him." His teeth chattered as he spoke, and he kept making "clack-clack" noises. Falling into the sea in this cold weather is not fun, and ordinary people don't have to It took only one stick of incense to freeze to death. Peng Gufan relied on his kung fu skills to persist in the ice sea for a while, but his lower body soaked in the sea was already frozen and unconscious.
Jiang Shuo hurriedly picked up Peng Gufan and said, "Where did Brother Peng come from? Those who don't know are not guilty. You were almost killed, and it's human nature to feel a little impatient."
The first thing a person who falls into the water needs to do is wipe off the water, and the second thing is to dry the clothes. Both of these requirements are difficult to achieve on a raft. For example, Peng Gufan is still wearing outer robes and middle clothes soaked by the cold sea water. He would still be frozen to death for a moment or three. But Jiang Shuo already had a plan in his mind. He held Peng Gufan's vest with one hand and injected hot Qi to help him clear the meridians of his legs and feet that were numb from the cold. With the other hand, he sprayed Qi from the Laogong point on the palm of his hand. Jiang Shuo danced his right hand, The scorching hot air wandering over the clothes Peng Gufan was wearing immediately turned into a white mist when encountering the cold weather.
The white mist also surged up from behind Peng Gufan. Peng Gufan felt a burning sensation in front of and behind him, and couldn't help but tremble. Jiang Shuo had already grasped the Shenzhu point on his Governor Vein. Peng Gufan just wanted to After struggling but unable to break free, Jiang Shuo whispered: "Brother Peng, don't panic, I'm here to help you."
The raft had just been soaked in the icy sea and was still cold and wet. Jiang Shuo did not let Peng Gufan sit on the ground. He held Peng Gufan with one hand and danced up and down quickly with the other. Within a moment, the white mist filled the air and almost covered the raft. Peng Gufan's whole body was shrouded, and in just one light, Peng Gufan's clothes were completely dry, and his limbs felt warm. Peng Gufan knew that his life was saved at this moment, and again When he wanted to kneel down and thank him, Jiang Shuo hurriedly supported him and prevented him from doing so, saying, "Brother Peng, the raft is wet, so don't kneel down anymore. Since we are brothers, we shouldn't stick to these small etiquettes."
Duguxiang asked curiously: "Brother Peng, why did you throw yourself into the sea in your business of selling stones?"
Peng Gufan said: "Ms. Dugu, don't make fun of me anymore. Ever since the young master told me not to do anything like killing people and selling goods, I have stopped selling stones for a long time. I can only sell sand..." He said, "Sell stones." "It means killing people and sinking them into the sea, and selling sand is selling illegal salt. Jiang Shuo could not stop all illegal activities, so he had to make an appointment with Xu Lai and Peng Gufan.
He was determined not to do anything that would harm people's lives, so Peng Gufan said that he was not in the killing business now, but only in the smuggling business.
Duguxiang asked: "Then why were you tied with stones and thrown into the sea?"
Peng Gufan cursed: "His grandma's is not a stone, but a four-claw iron anchor."
Xu Lai was stunned for a moment and said, "What happened? The boatmen mutinied?"
Peng Gufan said: "Our brothers can't do such a thing. Today is a ghost!"
Dugu Xiang was shocked and said: "Brother Shuo, there is indeed a ghost!"
Xu Lai said: "Xiang'er, don't be afraid. This ghost is not a ghost. The boat people call foreigners "ghosts", but in this far north, apart from the Silla people, there are very few foreigners. Gufan, let’s start from the beginning. How on earth did you get tied to an anchor and still be here? "
Peng Gufan crossed his hands and said yes, saying: "I will send all the great sages back to the Central Plains. After the flute leader asked me to patrol among the islands, I would be ready to help the young master return to the Central Plains at any time. Later, the weather became colder and it rained for a few days. There was a heavy snowfall, and Bohai Sea and Wuhu Sea froze one after another, so I just stayed on Wuhu Island and waited for spring before heading north to meet Young Master and Hallmaster Xu."
Jiang Shuo said: "Brother Xu and Brother Peng, you have been detained on the island just for me. I feel really uneasy."
Xu Lai crossed his hands and said, "Where did the young master's words come from? The subordinates are by the gang leader's side. This is how they should be."
Peng Gufan said: "Yes, I don't have to run a boat on the island, but it is very relaxing. But early this morning, a fleet of large food boats suddenly arrived on Wuhu Island."
Jiang Shuo asked curiously: "Is he that kind of big cannibal with a black robe all over his body?"
Peng Gufan asked curiously: "Young master, have you ever dealt with big eaters? You also know their dressing customs. This big eaters are also strange. In the early years, they all wore white robes. I don't know when they changed. Wearing black robes instead." Little did they know that those who wore white clothes before were "white-robed eaters", but in recent years, those who wore white clothes were "black-robed eaters." At this moment, the masters of Persia's homeland are still white-clad Dashi, but they have long been in decline. The ones who really control the country's lifeline are the black-clad Dashi. Therefore, most of the merchant ships entering the ports of the Tang Dynasty are black-clad Dashi with black ships and black sails. .
Xu Laiqi asked: "What are the big cannibals doing here? I have never seen a big cannibal merchant come to such a northern place before."
Peng Gufan said: "They are not merchants doing ordinary business..." He suddenly remembered something, shouted something bad, and said to Xu Lai: "Stop the boat quickly, stop the boat quickly, the bearded men who brought the big food are still here. As for Wuhu Island, Hall Master Xu, if you sail straight to Wuhu Island like this, wouldn’t you be throwing yourself into a trap?”
Xu Lai glared at Peng Gufan and said, "Why are you panicking? Why don't you look at the anchorage on the raft?"
Peng Gufan kept patting his head and said: "I wish I had known that the anchor wouldn't have sunk into the sea..."
Jiang Shuo said: "If Jinglang hadn't cut off the rope just now, not only you and me, but the entire raft might have sunk into the sea."
Peng Gufan suddenly said: "Ah... Oops, Oops... Wuhu Island is already in front of me as I speak."
Everyone looked south, and sure enough they saw the outlines of several large and small islands appearing in the sea ahead, and there were faint lights flashing. Isn't this dangerous?
Xu Lai said: "You don't have to use an anchor to stop the ship..." He pulled the sail and let the raft crash into the floating ice on the side of Bohai Sea. The current of Bohai Sea has little salt and slow current, so regardless of the amount of sea ice It is also thicker than Wuhuhai. The raft hit the increasingly dense sea ice, naturally moving slower and slower, and finally got stuck in the ice floe and stopped. Xu Lai hurriedly folded the sail to avoid being swept away by the north wind.
After the raft stopped, I looked up and saw that the raft was now on the west side of Wuhu Island, only about a mile away from Wuhu Island. This Wuhu Island is actually not one island, but two islands that are horns of each other in the sea. The North Island has towering cliffs, with the highest point reaching 50 or 60 feet, while the South Island is very flat, shaped like a rake. The two islands The mutual embrace has become a natural safe haven. Looking in from the west gap, I saw three large black ships moored in the shelter of the South Island. The lights on the ships were swimming and flickering, making it look very lively.
The three ships were all painted black, with upturned heads and towering sterns. Although the sails had been lowered, judging from the characteristics of the black ships, they were the same as those that Jiang Shuo had seen in Hongze that day.
The boat ride on the big food encountered on the lake is quite similar, but it is larger.
Dugu Xiang and Xu Lai had also seen the black boat dressed in black and eating well in Hongze. They looked at each other and nodded gently with Jiang Shuo.
Jiang Shuo asked Peng Gufan: "Brother Peng, how did you get into a conflict with the cannibal, and how did you end up on the ice floe several miles away?"
Peng Gufan said: "I don't know either. Wuhu Island is named because it opens to the Wuhu Sea and has always been regarded as the gateway to the Wuhu Sea. The local fishermen named it "Huang Island" based on its appearance. , "Huang" is a city without a moat. The two islands surrounded it look like a small city. This island is not unique to anyone. Everyone can take shelter from the wind and repair on these two islands. Our Dongbang has built a hut on the island. In the past few days, a ship and dozens of people have docked here to rest. "
Jiang Shuo thought to himself: The Dongbang has a foothold on various islands. It seems that the Dongbang will not be running Beidao Road for a day or two. "
Peng Gufan said: "Today, these three black boats came from the south. The people on the boats were not all cannibals, but also Han people. They all raised their swords to chop without saying anything. Seeing that we were outnumbered, we reluctantly sailed out to sea. But because of the ice floe, we were overtaken after only a few miles. They captured the ship and the crew of the ship, but they tied an anchor to my feet and threw me into the sea. I lay on a big ice floe. Because my feet were too heavy and I couldn't climb onto the ice, but I was unwilling to die. I spent an unknown amount of time flopping on the sea. I didn't want to meet the young master, so I was able to survive in death."
